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to start a conversation going ...
as and when you might need one ...
a diversion to talk about

Thursday, 20 April 2017

Q is for Quirky Quizzy facts and Quaggas …

A few quirky quizzy facts …

These escapees might have followed
the mob leader ...

A group of sheep could be called ‘a mob’ …

Sheep can see behind themselves … their field of vision is 300
degrees …

Cattle are red/green colour blind … their primary sense is vision ...

Horses have bigger eyes than any other mammal that lives on
land … and their vision is nearly 360 degrees … they also have dichromatic vision ... similar to our red/green colour blindness ...

Turkeys originated from Mexico - not Turkey!

Quagga illustration by
Samuel Daniell (1804)

Quaggas are not native to Britain … but were seen in Britain
in the 1800s – drawings being made in the late 1700s and early 1800s, photos being
taken at London Zoo in 1863, 1864 and 1870; specimens made, skeletons going on show at
Museums …

Devil's Peak, Cape Town

… and now there is a Quagga Project being undertaken near Devil’s
Peak, Cape Town …

That is Q for Quaint Quaggas, Quizzy Facts for Querying Quirky
minds … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with
the letter Q …

(note some Counties have been
retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

How deliciously quaint the mob is and the info re their eyesight! I think the quagga is half horse half donkey, but I've have to query this before being sure. Thanks Hilary - so, NO counties in the UK beginning with Q? Reserved for the Queen -

I was fascinated by the quagga so I just looked it up. It seems they are classified as, not a species, but a sub-species of Saharan Zebras. They went extinct 100 years ago but the Quagga Project that you mentioned has brought them back! CLICK HERE for Bazza’s argute Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

I though Quails would be the only candidate for Q, but of course you would find a different and quirky one! :) I think it's a little unfair that we don't have 360 degrees vision like horses, how cool would that be?

I can't imagine what it would be like to see behind yourself, I have enough problem looking forward. One has to wonder why red/green colour blindness is fine for cattle, why they don't need to see the difference between those colours.SophieSophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - Dragon Diaries

Quagga. My husband fancies himself knowledgeable about animals - I'll need to see if he has ever heard of them. And I knew about turkeys, because we eat a lot of turkey here in the United States and they always bring up their origin story at Thanksgiving time. The Unknown Journey Ahead agingonthespectrum.blogspot.com

A Quagga Project - I wonder what that involves, some kind of resurrection? A curious but intriguing animal. I guess 360 vision is the advantage of having your eyes on the sides of your head like a horse!

You would think, that living in cattle country as I do, I would have known some of these things. But no, no I did not. The vision information is fascinating! There is no sneaking up those guys. I love that a group of sheep could be called a mob. It seems like such a terrible word for what is usually a gentle animal.

Don't think I have ever heard of a Quagga. Didn't know the horse's eye was so big. I do know elephants always seem to have teeny eyes for their size. Nor did I know sheep could see all round like that.

My former boss used to insist that "people are sheep"... with "mob" as a collective noun, she may have been more correct than she knew!(300º vision?!? Sheep?!?)Once again, Hilary, you have me thinking, "who knew???";-D

i enjoyed going back through some of the previous letters - love your animal theme! and today's quirky quizzy facts =)and yay piggies!can't believe it's already Q day! How do you like the new way to connect with other participants? I curious!

thanks for always stopping by!good luck with the rest of the challenge.

@ Sylvia – oh how interesting … I haven’t seen anything recently about quaggas on tv … but am delighted to know you’re enjoying the series … thank you ..

@ EC – exactly what it’s meant to be … it was fun looking around for some quirky facts …

@ Susan – yes I was fond of a ‘mob’ for some sheep … and the eyesight aspects bemused me. Quagga seemingly is a sub-species of the Plains Zebra … but science is still ongoing – as per the Cape Project. Nope no counties beginning with Q – not even the Queen’s county!

@ Bazza – ah thank you – you confirm my note above … and yes they are trying to bring them back. We had one live quagga here at the beginning of the 1900s … so there is evidence to look at …

@ Deniz – I’ve known about them for years … must be a British anomaly …

@ Carmel – I must look at Jill’s post … I guess the Queen does have Queensland too (for the moment?!) … but I believe it is down under?!

@ Nila – I hadn’t thought of Quails … so ‘next time’?! The vision aspects I thought were fun … and fitted the Quirky aspects of the post – think of all the troubles we could get into if we could see 360 degrees …..????

@ Keith – oh yes … not even from your butcher friend?!

@ Courtney – I hadn’t heard of Quokkas … but they wouldn’t have fitted my British Rare Breeds profile … however – great to know about the little souls … the eye-vision facts were amazing …

@ DeeDee – thank you … I hadn’t realised they can see practically all the way round …

@ Sophie – I agree, it would be strange to be able to see behind me and think how many trips (falling over trips) we’d be looking back at – having already gone past. I don’t know re the colour aspects – I thought I should try and write my long post on colour … there’s a few extra reasons now …

@ Marja – good to see you – it’s interesting about vision and colour …

@ Cynthia – thank you … glad you enjoyed the quizzy, quirky facts …

@ Vinodini – turkeys are so named, because they were brought in from the middle east by Turkey merchants – so called traders from the Middle Eastern end of the Silk Road … originally ‘turkey birds’ – shortened to just ‘Turkeys’ …

@ Martha – it’s a good animal for this sort of thing – and I learnt they’re doing the Quagga Project in the Cape region. I had forgotten that Turkeys were originally from Mexico …

@ Bookworm – oh good to test your hubby … did he know? Oh yes – spoil sports all the other educators … similarly we get for Christmas with St Nicholas …

@ Neha – good to meet you here … I hadn’t thought about that aspect: rioters being called a mob … but they are mindlessly following so often …

@ Shirley – I’ll have to see what you wrote for Quaggas … I’ll be over (Sometime!) …

@ Madeleine – lovely to see you – the cattle colour blindness was interesting to read about, and men tend to have the colour blindness tendency rather than women … that’s good you’re considering the A-Z for 2018 …

@ Emily – glad you enjoyed the snippets re sheep, quaggas etc …

@ Leanne – lovely to meet you – and am glad the Quagga has taken a place in your heart! Yes I love learning …. Full stop!

@ Arleen – they may well be … and looking up quirky facts too ..

@ Nick – yes the Quagga project in Cape Town … we had a living quagga here in the UK in the late 1800s … they were found in South Africa until about the 1850s … so they are relative new in their demise.

It’s interesting the evolution of certain aspects of different animals …

@ Phillip – yes I’d say it is … and there’s at least one other –where there are no counties beginning with a particular letter …

Yes Quaggas were called this by the Khoikhoi, when they described zebra or similar animals …

@ Sue – happily provided!

@ Jean – Quaggas are an interesting animal. Mothers with vision … I’m not sure –but they sure are instinctive and aware of their little ones …

@ Elsie – I’m still afraid of horses – but I don’t get that near to them. Glad ‘the mob’ gave you a good giggle and reminder about Al Capone …

@ CD – well they be real critters not that long ago – 1800s …

@ Chicky – yes you’re probably right- that’s why horses are put in blinkers – thanks for pointing that out … Quaggas were real in the 1800s in South Africa …

@ Curtis – I know we have evolved in not quite the right way have we – I hope we can sort our human lives out very soon …

@ Bob – I must say these quirky facts explain a few things about animals …

@ Denise – well glad I’ve enlightened you now re ‘a quagga’ …

@ Andrea – it’s funny how interesting facts can slip us by – you’ll look at your cattle in a different way now … I think sheep being a mob is quite good – if we read Neha’s comment about ‘following their leader mindlessly wherever they’re going’ makes sense then .. .

@ Roland – yes that’s a good word for describing horses at times when unknown people are around … ‘skittish’ – the eyesight aspects I thought were interesting …

@ Deborah – I like to surprise … or at least keep people guessing! So glad I did …

@ Joanne – thanks so much … I work out the difficult letters before I start the Challenge – then can meet the letters …

@ Liz – yes the naming of a Turkey is an odd one isn’t it

@ Diane – hopefully that’s what I’m writing for … to entertain and give some education at the same time .. thanks!

@ Jo – life is full of interesting facts … elephants’ eyes appear to be tiny don’t they …

@ Jz – yes I think that phraseology has been around for a long time – people act like sheep quite often … lots of “who knew” here – just happy you’re happy!

@ Trudy – I think mothers have that inbuilt instinct to look around and check in … children learn that very young … and yes horses are beguiling …

@ Jacqui – well that’s good if you can bring them up for quizzes …

@ Monti – thank you .. good to see you …

@ Tara – that’s lovely to read you’ve looked back over some of the letters – I’m glad the theme appears to have been successful – especially the piggies, and then the quirky quizzy facts …

Pleasure stopping by … I have to say I don’t like the new way of doing things … but then I’m not into social media – however I can’t worry – as lots of people seem to have found me and come back to read .. for which I’m very grateful …

Cheers to you all – thanks for your visits and I love hearing from you … Hilary

I've never associated turkeys with Mexico. Not a common dish to find in a Mexican restaurant. They must have already spread into the U.S. by the time the early settlers got here. I'd heard that Benjamin Franklin had suggested the turkey be named as the National Bird, but the eagle won over which was probably the wiser choice.

That information about the eyes of different animals is fascinating and slightly freaky. I guess it makes sense for survival that they can see so far around themselves. I always thought that Turkeys were native to North America due to them being eaten at Thanksgiving. Love you post.Pamela @ Highlands Days of Fun

I knew the turkey did not come from Turkey but I thought they were North American, meaning the States and Douthern parts of Canada. I wonder if one had DNA from extinct species, if they could be created a la Jurassic Park but not the type that can eat people in one gulp

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About Me

A lover of life – who after London, spent time in South Africa; an administrator, sports lover, who enjoys cooking and entertaining ... who through her mother’s illness found a new passion – writing, in particular blogging; which provides an opportunity for future exploration, by the daughter, who has (in her 3rd age years) found a love of historical education. Curiosity didn’t kill this cat – interaction is the key! Now moved to Vancouver Island, Canada for 'a while' - not forever ...